It's almost that time.

"Rosie O'Donnell is so dumb." "Why?" "Because she's a lesbian."

"Ellen DeGeneres is an idiot." "Why?" "Because she's gay."

"I liked Brandon and Kapono until they opened their mouths. They're so gross."

"I'd go get my shot gun if I saw those gays..."

Needless to say, my emotions have been a ticking time-bomb all weekend. Returning from my third straight family reunion and having endured such hateful comments makes me think one thing: the time has almost come to make things known to my family. I don't know how much more I can take, sitting quietly in the back of the car, suppressing the tears. There have been times I came this close to screaming to my brother, my father or my sister-in-law, "That queer you speak so hatefully of is sitting in this car, sharing your name."

But I don't. That would only make things worse. Then again, what could be worse?

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...